SEATTLE — A first-time partnership between Swedish Orthopedic Institute, nonprofit Project Access Northwest and local physicians is giving 11 local patients life-changing orthopedic care as part of a nationwide campaign known as Operation Walk USA during the week of Dec. 2-7, 2013.

Painful joints, whether caused by chronic conditions such as arthritis, an injury, or a lifetime of wear and tear, can be a significant barrier to living a healthy and productive life. For many uninsured or underinsured patients, these conditions are a sentence to a lifetime of pain, frustration and dependency.

“The hip is so bad now that it’s difficult to walk, difficult to sleep,” said Gregory Arnold, Seattle resident and recipient of a right hip replacement. “I can hardly imagine what it will be like to be able to walk again. It will extend my life by years.”

KOMO News has posted a story on the recent premarket approval by the Food & Drug Administration of a device designed to detect and treat epilepsy.

The story quotes Ryder Gwinn, M.D., medical director of the Swedish Neurosciences Institute Center for Neuromodulation and Functional Restoration

Testing on the NeuroPace device began in 2004 and was conducted throughout the United States, including the Swedish Neuroscience Institute. Today, Swedish is the only center in the Pacific Northwest approved to implant the device.

The March of Dimes, Swedish Medical Center Foundation and Sorrento Hotel team up to deliver Thanksgiving meals to the NICU

WHAT: While most Seattle families spend this time of year preparing their annual Thanksgiving feast, for parents of premature babies still in the hospital, a holiday dinner is an afterthought. Tomorrow, November 26, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., the Sorrento Hotel will bring a delicious Thanksgiving meal to families spending the holiday with their babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Swedish/First Hill.

WHY: Families spending Thanksgiving in the hospital have babies born too soon or too ill to go home. A Thanksgiving meal gives them a moment to relax and enjoy the holiday during this stressful time. The event was made possible thanks to generous donations from former NICU Graduate Families and Sorrento Hotel in collaboration with the March of Dimes NICU Family Support Program and the Swedish Foundation.

On Thursday, November 21, the Swedish Edmonds campus experienced a fire isolated in a lower-level, mechanical room at or about 7 PM.

No injuries are reported. Swedish Edmonds medical staff and emergency personnel have acted quickly to ensure the safety of all patients and medical staff.

There is smoke damage at the hospital, resulting in a partial patient evacuation, with transfers expected to both Swedish Ballard and Providence Everett facilities. We have confirmed that 11 patients from the Swedish Edmonds Emergency Department have been transferred to Providence Everett, and 1 OB patient to Swedish Ballard.

We are currently still confirming if additional patient transfers will be necessary. Current power outages in the hospital are not affecting patient safety.

(11/22/13 7:30 AM) Update: The majority of Swedish Edmonds is running on power. A portion of the hospital is currently without power. Patient safety is not affected at this time. Hospital staff and leaders continue to work quickly to restore power to all parts of the Swedish Edmonds campus.

(11/22/13 9:20 AM) Update: The Emergency Department is open. Patients and families who have questions about patients or any scheduled procedures for today (November 22) should first contact Swedish/Edmonds main switchboard at 425-640-4000.

(11/22/13 7:35 PM) Update: Additional generator capacity at Swedish Edmonds is in place and being gradually brought online to address the areas of the hospital currently without power. Site managers continue to prioritize patient care and services as they allocate power to meet Swedish Edmonds needs.

SEATTLE – The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has granted pre-market approval to a California company’s device for the treatment of medically refractory epilepsy that Swedish Neuroscience Institute played a key role in evaluating.

The NeuroPace® RNS® System, a treatment for adults with partial onset seizures that have not been controlled with two or more antiepileptic drugs, received FDA premarket approval on Nov. 14, 2013. Created by Mountain View, Calif.-based NeuroPace, the RNS System is a novel, implantable therapeutic device that delivers responsive neurostimulation, an advanced technology designed to continuously monitor electrical activity in the brain, detect abnormal activity and respond by delivering imperceptible levels of electrical stimulation to normalize that activity before an individual experiences seizures.

Swedish physician Ryder Gwinn, M.D., medical director of the Swedish Neurosciences Institute Center for Neuromodulation and Functional Restoration, served as a principal investigator for the device’s feasibility and clinical trials. Swedish was one of 11 centers that evaluated the device’s feasibility and one of 32 centers that conducted the pivotal trial that led to FDA premarket approval. Swedish Neuroscience Institute will initially be the only center in the Pacific Northwest to implant the device.

Swedish Ballard has been providing cancer services to the community for more than 35 years. As a part of the continuing mission to provide world-class cancer care close to home, we are expanding our cancer treatment services at Ballard through the new Swedish Cancer Institute Medical Oncology and Treatment Center. This new space is an impressive 8,000+ square foot integrated facility that includes:

Clinic space for 5 medical oncologists

13 infusions bays

2 private rooms with hospital beds

Convenient, street-level access

Patient drop-off location

Medical oncologists and staff will be available to answer questions. We look forward to seeing you!

SEATTLE — November 7, 2013 — Swedish Medical Center’s organ transplant program is celebrating two milestones this month – the 40th anniversary of its kidney transplant program and recent approval of its liver transplant program by Medicare.

Swedish is a longstanding leader in organ transplantation in the Pacific Northwest, particularly kidney transplantation. Now operating for 40 years, the kidney transplant program is the most experienced of its kind in the region treating more than 100 patients each year.

The recent approval by Medicare comes five years after the Washington Supreme Court approved the liver program’s certificate of need in 2008. The first liver transplant performed at Swedish was in September 2010.